CHESTERLAND, Ohio — Black Friday doesn’t bring the long lines it used to — or does it?
Right before 9 a.m. at Sugar Pines Farm in Chesterland, a mile-long line of cars idled outside, waiting for the Christmas tree farm to open for the season.
Long lines on Black Friday are alive and well (just maybe not at the retail stores like you remember).
— Clay LePard (@ClayLePard) November 24, 2023
This is the line at Sugar Pines Farm in Chesterland before they opened for the season at 9am.
Got to get the perfect tree! @WEWS pic.twitter.com/lq9pd8fF0y
Chris Arth of Solon and his family were first in line, arriving at 5:30 a.m. Five minutes later, the Arco family of Mentor pulled in.
"When the kids were young, we got here about 7 a.m.," Chris Arth said. "Now everyone keeps coming, and we keep beating each other."
"We were first last year," Jill Arco joked.
For many, it's a Christmas kickoff tradition, where in-store pickup or free shipping just won’t do.
"It has to be a triangle shape, it can’t be fat," Jennie Ritt of Mentor said when describing how she looks for the perfect tree.
"Here you got live cut trees, and you cut your own, and you can’t do that online," Chris Arth added.
Co-owner Jane Neubauer told News 5 that the tree farm will do about 50% of their seasonal business in just these three days, with 25% of their entire seasonal business occurring on Black Friday.
That amounts to about 2,000 trees sold this weekend.
Neubauer joked she calls "Green Friday" the true transition from Thanksgiving to Christmas.
"This is it, this is what we work for all year," she said. "All the Christmas tree farms we know, this is their busiest day too."
Clay LePard is a special projects reporter at News 5 Cleveland. Follow him on Twitter @ClayLePard or on Facebook Clay LePard News 5.
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